Who Can Beat The Seahawks At Home?

Dec 2, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; General view of the CenturyLink Field exterior and the downtown Seattle skyline before the NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After blowing out the Saints 34-7 last night it’s starting to seem like no one has the ability to beat the Seahawks at home this season. If the Saints, who have one of the most prolific passing offenses in the NFL can only muster 188 total yards and 7 points at CenturyLink Field, what chance does anyone else in the NFC have?

It’s not like the Saints didn’t try everything possible to deal with the crowd noise either (custom fitted earplugs come to mind). The bottom line is, no matter how hard teams try there just is no good answer for dealing with the 12th man. Especially when the stakes are high and the crowd really gets going.

Speaking of high stakes, the Seahawks clinched a playoff spot by beating the Saints on Monday night. The stakes for Seattle don’t get any higher than being in the playoffs with the possibility of having home field advantage. Having said that, what team in the NFC might have the best chance of coming to CenturyLink in the playoffs and walking away victorious?

Based on the current NFC playoff field(which will likely explode in the next few weeks) the five other teams Seattle might face are:  New Orleans, Detroit, Dallas, Carolina, and San Francisco. So which one of these teams should scare the Seahawks if they come to town?

After New Orleans performance against Seattle last night it seems apparent that the Saints have trouble marching anywhere that isn’t the Superdome. If a rematch with the Seahawks happens in the playoffs it’s likely that the Saints will have the same troubles with crowd noise and weather.

Similar to New Orleans, Detroit is an indoor team that sometimes has outdoor troubles. Plus, Calvin Johnson struggled against Seattle last season and a bad game from him would be bad news for the Lions.

Then there is Dallas. Tony Romo and Big D have had their struggles in the Northwest for quite some time now and I don’t believe that would change if they came to town in January. In fact one of the only teams that’s had more trouble in Seattle lately that than the Cowboys is the 49ers.

That leaves Carolina. It’s no secret that the Panthers have completely transformed over the last several weeks of the season. They are a talented defensive team with a young quarterback that is starting to become the leader everyone thought he could mature into. The trajectory of the Panthers this season is very similar to the Seahawks last season. By the time the playoffs roll around Carolina could be even hotter than they are now. With their ability to run the ball and play lights out defense the Panthers just might have what it takes to control the crowd and game if they ventured to Seattle in the playoffs. It’s still too early to say Seattle will be hosting playoff games this season, but if they do, the Carolina Panthers might be the team they should fear.